Originally Posted by
rcfd13
I think the original idea was that it offsets the high cost of training a new hire for the company. As RJSCUM said above though as long as people keep showing up for training it's not going to change. As soon as an airline can't get any new hires to show up one of the first things they do is offer signing bonuses to help first year pay.
Then why don't captain upgrades take a hit on their pay rates when they transition to the left seat, in order to cover training costs? First year pay rates are low because the UNION negotiates it that way. They use the savings to make gains elsewhere in the pay scales for more senior pilots.